Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (121 page)

But I had done all right. In the five years since drowning in that mountain lake, I had built a new life, with new people I had grown to love. And now, finally, I had a new dream.

The idea of becoming a professional chef was exciting. And while the thought of going back to school was making me want to vomit, I reminded myself that my body and mind had made a full recovery. And that this type of school would be different. Cooking was hands-on and I’d be learning about something that I loved doing.  

“You’re ready,” I whispered, noticing that the car was still there.

As I finished my last cool-down lap, I decided it was time to find out why I was being followed. 

But just as I took a few steps toward it, the car drove off.

I climbed the short distance to the street and watched it disappear down the hill, determined that the next time I saw it I’d make sure to be faster.

CHAPTER 2

Although it was a little loud at times, I liked Ty’s new place. The small house he had rented was in a great location, just a few blocks from downtown.

“Not too shabby.”

“Yep,” he said. “It’s a keeper.”

We sat in plastic chairs on the porch in the dark, our feet up on the railing, listening to the frogs.

“Do you think they’re real? The frogs.”

“Of course they’re real,” he said. “Don’t you think they’re real?”

“I dunno. I have my doubts.”

“Like all that croaking is coming from a sound effect machine? That’s awful cynical of you.”

“I suppose, but how come you never see them?”

“How quickly they forget,” Ty said. “What about me? I used to be a frog before you turned me into your prince.”

“You were never a frog,” I said. “A wombat maybe. But never a frog.”

He grinned.

I suddenly realized that my skepticism about frogs was how a lot of people felt about ghosts.

“It’s really nice that you don’t have any roommates anymore.”

He looked over at me and shrugged.

“Well, I don’t think I can quite agree with that. There’s one I’m trying to get, but she keeps blowing me off.”

I forced a smile, but didn’t say anything. It was my own fault. On the one hand, I had told Ty that I wasn’t ready to live together, but on the other I found myself spending a lot of nights here, especially with Kate gone so much.

“So you had a good day?” I asked after a long moment.

He laughed and looked back out at the street.

“Yeah,” he said. “Say, how about this weekend we get a few steaks for the barbie?”

“Excellent, but what’s Ken gonna eat?”

“Who? Oh, good one.”

Ty didn’t have much in the way of a kitchen, but he did have a nice, new barbeque that we fired up almost every night.

“Let me know if this is too personal, but…” He turned and looked deeply into my eyes. “Does your pee stink when you eat asparagus?”

“Man, does it,” I said, glad he wasn’t pushing me to move in and wondering what it said about me that I felt more comfortable talking about bodily functions.

“Yeah, mine too. The first time it happened I thought I was a goner. I was sure I had kidney failure or something worse.”

“How ‘bout we skip the smelly urine this time and grill some peaches? And I’ll make a red pepper dip as an appetizer too.”

“Good,” he said. “But let’s back up a moment. What if you just bring some of your stuff over and we’ll see how it goes? It doesn’t have to be such a big deal. Waking up next to you in the morning is the best feeling in the world. Well,
one
of the best feelings in the world.”

He took my hand and kissed it as I watched that bright, fast electric energy swirl around him in waves.

I loved Ty. It wasn’t that. But I wasn’t ready to move in.

“I love waking up with you too,” I said. “I’m just not ready to make it permanent. When we decide to live together, I want it to be a big deal. We have it good now, right?”

“We do,” he said, standing up and stretching. “Okay. I’ll work on my patience. Hey, you must be getting excited about school coming up.”

“Yeah, that and some jitters too.”

“Ah, you’ll do just fine. You know I’ve been giving it some thought myself, going back to school and getting my brewer’s license.”

“I think that would be
Swill
,” I said, laughing. “I mean, swell.”

It was hard to not make fun of the worst 10 Barrel beer I had ever tasted.

“Ouch,” Ty said. “But for now one person going back to school in the family is enough.”

My breath caught in my throat for a moment, but when I looked back over at him, I saw that he was smiling.

“Wow, you really do have commitment issues, don’t you? I’m just having a little fun and you make it so easy.”

I smiled weakly.

“Hey, maybe when it’s all said and done, we can open up a pub here in Bend,” he said. “You could be the executive chef of the joint and I’ll brew the beer.”

“I like how you think.”

A few mosquitos buzzed around, the cool night air nipping at my face. I heard a car slowing down in front of the house. As I looked up, I was relieved to see it was a minivan.

“So what are we doing tomorrow?” Ty said. “You still have the day off, right?”

Days off together had been hard to come by lately.

“You bet. I thought we could head up to Elk Lake for some paddle boarding. But we should go early before it gets too crowded.”

“Cool. My board doesn’t even speak to me anymore. What else?”

“I want to get a few more flowers too for the backyard,” I said.

“I’ll help you pick the colors.”

It was the only remaining physical complication from my accident, being color blind. Sometimes I dreamt in color, which gave me hope that someday it would return. But it wasn’t such a big deal either way. I had gotten used to living in a black and white world.

As we sat there, I thought about how much I loved Ty. His kindness, his compassion, the happiness that poured out from him. How he looked with the sun in his face. Those strong, muscular arms that wrapped around me and that casual, relaxed laugh. The way his eyes shined when he wanted me.

I brought his hand to my cheek and was overcome with that buzzing energy, the one that sent those chills through me when I was around him. Even though I had known him a long time now, those feelings still hit hard, stirring something deep inside.

Ty was my summer, warm and sweet and good.

CHAPTER 3

I walked inside and was hit by a wall of stagnant, stale air.

But there was more to it than that. The entire house felt sad and neglected. Even though I had done some solid cleaning the last time I had been home, a thin layer of dust covered everything and a strange odor hung in the air.

It was the smell of loneliness.

Between Kate being gone and me staying over at Ty’s house most nights, it felt empty down to its bones. I flipped on the air conditioner, hoping it would help bring the place back to life. I put the groceries away, slid off my sandals, and headed to the shower.

It had been a good day on the river. There were friendly customers, smooth runs, and large tips. And although it took a little time getting used to Ty not being there this summer, the other guides were fun to hang out with.

I picked a few sprigs of rosemary from the backyard and chopped them up for the marinade. I kept it simple, mixing raspberry vinegar with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, some garlic, and the rosemary. I poured it over the chicken, and then let it sit in the fridge for a little while.

I headed back outside.

As I glanced around, I was happy with the work we had done. Ty and I had planted flowers, mowed the lawn, and plucked weeds. Even the little waterfall that trickled into the pond was running again. The yard looked back to normal.

Since losing out on a job as a crime reporter at
The Oregonian
in May, my sister Kate had been struggling emotionally. It wasn’t like her. Losing or being in a funk. She hadn’t been in Bend much during the summer, having taken over the government beat in Salem for someone on maternity leave. But every time we spoke on the phone she sounded pretty down. I was glad when her friend Erin suggested they take a vacation together.

As I stared at the Adirondack chairs by the pond, I thought about Jesse and the last time I saw him. It was on a warm spring afternoon when we sat there talking.

“You won’t be seeing me for a while,” he said, rubbing the top of his head through his hat. “I need to take some time and think about things, Craigers. I need to figure this out.”

Since his dad died, Jesse had been reevaluating his life, thinking about the future, and trying to move in the right direction.

“I understand,” I said. “You can’t be here because of me. We both know that wouldn’t be right.”

I reached over and took his hand and kissed it. I didn’t want him to go. But I also knew that he deserved something better than a life just hanging around an old girlfriend.

“I won’t call, you’ll see,” I said, turning my head, trying to hold back the tears. “I’ll let you have your space.”

He stood up.

“Hey, you think the Spurs have a chance this year?” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

Jesse was a lifelong San Antonio fan.

“As long as they have Pop and Timmy D, they’ve always got a chance. I just hope that if they do make it to the finals, the Heat aren’t waiting for them.”

“Ah, who’s afraid of a little heat?” I said, dipping my fingers in the pond and flicking some water his way.

“That right there is cold, Craigers. You’s a bitch.”

We both smiled and I hugged him tightly.

“I love you, Jesse.”

“I love you too, Craigers.”

He let out a long sigh that seemed to last forever.

Eventually, I let go and turned away.

When I looked back, he was gone.

CHAPTER 4

I was still thinking about Jesse when the doorbell rang.

I headed inside. When I looked through the front window, I let out a gasp.

Standing on the porch was a man and parked on the street, the light-colored sedan.

I stood there for a moment, thinking about not answering. But even through the rush of adrenaline, I could tell there was something about him that was nonthreatening. I opened the door.

He held out a badge.

“You’re a cop?”

“Yes, Miss Craig. Detective Ellis Frazier, Eugene Police Department.”

The fact that he knew my name didn’t escape me.

He looked like a cop, although older than the ones I had dealt with before. He wore a short-sleeved button-down shirt, his tie loose, and dusty dress shoes. He was of average height and weight, with large, tired eyes. I put him somewhere in his sixties. He had to be close to retirement.

“You’re a little far from home,” I said.

Eugene was about two and a half hours away, west of the Cascades, down in the Willamette Valley. I had only been over there a few times, mostly for soccer tournaments when I was a kid, but I remembered it being busy. I also remembered sneezing a lot.

“I’m here on business,” he said.

I nodded, not sure how I fit in.

“Well, I’m glad you finally introduced yourself. I was wondering if you were planning on looking for a job at the café or trying out for the soccer team.”

“No, baseball was my sport. I’m sorry if I frightened you. That wasn’t my intention. I was just trying to get a feel for things before we spoke. Do you think we could talk? We can sit out here if you’d be more comfortable.”

“Okay,” I said.

I stepped outside, closing the door behind me. He put his hands in his pockets as we walked over to the wicker chairs in the corner.

His gray energy moved around him in a calm, gentle manner, making me think that he probably wasn’t here to arrest me. I relaxed a little and took a seat. But as he stood there looking out at the neighbor’s yard across the way, I noticed something that I hadn’t ever seen before. Within the movement around him, there was a black hole on the left side that looked like a dark whirlpool. It was hard not to stare.

He sat down.

“It’s hotter here than I was expecting.”

“Yeah, but last week I was wearing fleece. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

He took in a deep breath, stirring up the sadness that clung to him like the deep wrinkles on his face.

“So why are you here?”

He looked over at me.

“Well,” he said, pausing, “You see, I’ve heard about your psychic ability.”

“Heard about me from where?”

“In a newspaper article a while back. About how you helped stop a bombing at one of the high schools here. I’ve been interested in you ever since. I had to come out for business, so I thought I’d look you up. I’ve been reading your file over at the police department.”

My insides tightened.

“They have a file on me?” I said.

“Nothing to worry about, really. Although it’s fairly thick for someone who’s never committed a crime. Statements and interviews, a few newspaper clippings. Things of that nature.”

I sat in silence for a moment, watching the trees sway gently in the breeze.

“Look, I don’t want to waste your time,” he said. “So I’ll get to the point. I was hoping you might be willing to help us out with a case.”

“A case?”

“Emily Ross.”

***

I had heard of Emily Ross, just like pretty much everyone else in Oregon. She was a college student who disappeared one day on her way to class. It was the kind of story that served as a reminder that the darkness of the world was always at the door, waiting to come in, sometimes not waiting for an invitation.

“I haven’t heard anything new about her in a long time,” I said.

“That’s because the trail has gone cold, ice cold. We’ve reached a dead end.”

He blew out a long breath.

“The last time anyone saw her was on a Wednesday afternoon in January. She said goodbye to her roommate, then left her apartment to go to her class. After that, we know nothing. There’s no evidence to suggest what happened to her. She vanished into thin air as the saying goes. But I suspect she ended up somewhere far worse than thin air.”